WASHINGTON: A US report said Friday that Pakistan had a “culture of impunity” on human rights abuses and stated that security forces were operating outside the control of the civilian government.

An annual State Department survey on human rights reported widespread concerns in Pakistan, a key US war partner, including violence against women, child labor, corruption and discrimination against religious minorities.

The report said Pakistan had not held anyone accountable for a 2009 incident, shown in a leaked video, in which men in military uniforms shot dead six young men who were lined up and blindfolded with hands behind their backs.

“A failure to credibly investigate allegations, impose disciplinary or accountability measures and consistently prosecute those responsible for abuses contributed to a culture of impunity,” the report said.

WASHINGTON: Abandon Pakistan and embrace India was the message a US congressional panel sent to the Obama administration after a White House report to Congress complained that Pakistan was not doing enough to combat religious extremists.

The White House report also indicated a major difference between the two allies on their threat perceptions. While Pakistan sees India`s increasing presence in Afghanistan as a threat to its security, the US seems to believe that Pakistan`s obsession with India is harming the fight against extremists. “As India continues to dominate their strategic threat perception, large elements of Pakistan`s military remain committed to maintaining a ratio of Pakistani to Indian forces along the eastern border,” the White House told Congress in its report on the Pak-Afghan region.

ISLAMABAD: With the military brass as his audience, Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani expressed satisfaction with the progress in the militancy-hit region, which is being seen as a reaction to the White House criticism of Pakistan’s ‘poor progress’ in counter-insurgency operations in tribal areas.

Gen Kayani, presiding over the 137th Corps Commanders’ Conference held at the General Headquarters on Friday, referred to Shangla and Buner (Malakand division) in particular, which have been handed over to civilian control.

ISLAMABAD: The arrested bomber of the Sakhi Sarwar shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan, apologised to the Pakistani nation on Friday and said that he had been told to bomb the areas of non-Muslims.

During investigations, Omar told officials that there were 350 people receiving suicide bombing training in the militant hideouts of Waziristan. He said that these included Uzbeks, Tajiks, Arabs and Punjabis.

Omar said that he used to be blindfolded and taken for training. He said that the in-charge of the camp was Sangeen Khan who used to constantly be away on travel.

He also disclosed that the second bombing was supposed to take place between the rescue and media teams.

WASHINGTON, April 8: Efforts to improve US-Pakistan relations begin in earnest later this month with Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir’s visit to Washington which hopefully will lead to the strategic dialogue and a presidential visit to the US.

Mr Bashir and his delegation would meet officials at the State Department on April 20-21, US diplomatic sources told Dawn.

Both sides are expected to prepare the agenda for the next round of strategic dialogue likely to be held in Islamabad in May.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to lead the US team to the dialogue and Pakistani officials are hoping that the dialogue will pave the way for President Asif Ali Zardari’s first official visit to Washington in June.

“We obviously remain engaged with Pakistan in the struggle against terrorism and extremism. And our counter-terrorism efforts are critical to that progress,” said the State Department’s deputy spokesman, Mark Toner. “We’re also trying to work with Pakistan to build their institutions and strengthen their democracy in order to create a better, more prosperous future for the Pakistani people.”

Relations between the two countries — strained after a month-long detention of a CIA contractor in Pakistan — received another jolt earlier this week when a White House report accused Pakistan of failing to curb extremists.